Summitt stepping down as Tennessee coach

Pat Summitt will take a coach emeritus position at Tennessee… (US Presswire Photo )

2:00 p.m. EST, April 18, 2012|Tribune news services

Pat Summitt has stepped down as Tennessee women's basketball coach, ending an amazing 38-year career in which she amassed more wins than any coach in NCAA history.

Lady Vols associate head coach Holly Warlick will become the new head coach, while Summitt will become a coach emeritus with the program.

“I feel really good about my decision,” Summitt said. “I think this is going to be a win-win situation for everybody. Holly and I will work really well together.”

Summitt said that she met with athletic director Dave Hart and Warlick on Wednesday to finalize the transition.

The official end of her tenure comes eight months after she announced that she had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type. She remained coach at that time, though Warlick assumed many additional responsibilities.

“I feel like Holly's been doing the bulk of it,” Summitt said. “She deserves to be the head coach. I'm going to support her. No doubt, I'll be there for her.”

Summitt admitted that she doesn't know the scope of her new role. She understands that she can still attend practice, talk to the players and call recruits.

“We had to give it a name; that's pretty much what it is,” she said. “They kind of outlined everything. I don't know exactly what it's going to be.”

Warlick has spent the past 27 seasons as a Tennessee assistant, beginning with the 1985-86 season.

The Vols finished their season with a 77-58 loss to eventual national champion Baylor in the final of the Des Moines (Iowa) Regional.